The Queensland government is targeting anti-social behaviour in a new campaign aimed at reducing alcohol-related bad behaviour in the sunshine state. Launched last month, the campaign features a variety of adults behaving badly when drinking alcohol before being “red carded” with the tagline “We’re red carding anti-social behaviour” and directing viewers to a government website for information on the safe night out strategy.

A lack of progress of liquor law reform nearly nine months after a review of WA's liquor laws is frustrating, says the state's Police Commissioner. The review of the Liquor Control Act, released in January, made 141 recommendations including the introduction of secondary supply laws making it an offence to supply liquor to a juvenile on unlicensed premises without parental consent.

The State Government was yesterday under pressure to reconcile its support for the commercial cultivation of medicinal opiates while opposing medicinal cannabis in WA. It came as WA's peak farm lobby group nominated the State's South West as ideal for growing poppies, which the Abbott Government has approved for production outside Tasmania for the first time.

Drug support services say WA's ageing population and the purity of local heroin are contributing to the State's high rates of fatal overdoses. The WA Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies and the WA Substance Users' Association said yesterday that people who used illicit drugs and abused prescription drugs were getting older and might be more susceptible to overdose because of age-related medical issues and the use of other medications.

Authorities fear Australia is facing a surge in use of crystal methamphetamine, or "Ice", similar to the United States, where it's a huge problem. They're calling for a national approach to combat the drug.

The employment gap between non-indigenous and indigenous Australians is higher than thought, growing by more than three percentage points in the past six years. Initial job figures from the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey in February showed an indigenous mainstream employment rate of 45.9 per cent, but that has been revised down to 45.6 per cent based on the full survey sample.

Social commentator and feminist Jane Caro insulted generations of women when she compared marriage to prostitution, a women's advocate says. CARO said her comments on ABC TV's Q&A on Monday night were not aimed at modern wives, but she was speaking about the institution of marriage in the past.

Nominations for 20 seats held by Newman Government members have been opened by the Liberal National Party. “The LNP is a democratic party in which every seat is opened to nominations from prospective candidates ahead of each election,’’ the party said in a statement today.

The field to contest for preselection in the plum state Liberal seat of Hawthorn has been finalised, with four people putting their hand up for the position that will be decided by the party's administrative committee on Thursday evening. Institute of Public Affairs executive director John Roskam and Premier Denis Napthine's legal counsel, John Pesutto, are the front-runners.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has ordered that no asylum seekers be sent to Manus Island, instead funnelling them to the small Pacific Island of Nauru. In changes made to the Migration Act on July 15, Mr Morrison revoked the direction to send male asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea's offshore processing centre on Manus Island.